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STEM-Centric Career Assessments

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It’s Not Genes – It’s Gender

April 20th, 2017 by

women scientists

Although the gender gap in STEM careers exists around the globe, current research on global STEM involvement shows that the rates for women’s involvement in STEM vary from country to country. The explanation for this trend: “…success in math and the hard sciences is almost entirely dependent on culture – a culture that teaches girls math isn’t cool, and no one will date them if they excel in physics; a culture in which professors rarely encourage their female students to continue on for advanced degrees; a culture in which success in graduate school is a matter of isolation, competition and ridiculously long hours in the lab; a culture in which female scientists are hired less frequently than men, earn less money and are allotted fewer resources.” Read more about Eillen Pollack’s research here to learn about what is keeping women from engaging in STEM careers and what YOU can do about it.

The Power of Peer Connection

April 17th, 2017 by

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The energy in the room was after The Game was palpable. STEM graduate students, worn-out from their long days of working in lab, gathered around to participate in the Who You Are Matters! game – an interactive personal and professional development experience. It was inspiring to see such brilliant minds being brought to life through meaningful conversations. Student’s honored each other’s stories, explored possibilities for further development, and provided feedback to move each other towards their individual goals. It was truly an entire weekend workshop, facilitated in just 2-hours!

Not only were student’s inspired to take meaningful actions towards their individual goals, they experienced genuine connection – a rare opportunity in their busy lives. After playing with her group, computer scientist Gareth Halladay shared, “It was so inspiring to connect with each of you on a deeper level and realize that we all share common experiences and go through our own seasons as graduate students”. Another student reflected, “I just love that we got to encourage each other to go out and achieve what we want in life”.

In an environment that is constantly pushing for more, taking time to be with one another, to connect and collaborate, is invaluable to achieving greater successes.  Click here to learn more about how you can be trained to facilitate the Who You Are Matter’s experience. There is simply no substitute for the power of peer connection and encouragement.

 

Student’s pictured here are participants of Colorado State University’s GAUSSI Program – a transdisciplinary graduate training program consisting of extra courses, professional development opportunities, and mentoring and seminars in fields of large scale biological data analysis.

 

Try on a Career as an Engineer

April 17th, 2017 by

girl engineer

https://www.engineergirl.org/ is a great resource for middle school girls to begin exploring and getting excited about careers in engineering. Students can browse engineering fun facts, bios of women professionals who love their work, and even “try on a career” in engineering that fits their individual interests and talents. Do your students already know they want to go into engineering? Direct them to the “How To Get There” section of the website for tips and resources to prepare them for a fulfilling career as an engineer.

Science’s Future

April 13th, 2017 by

jane goodall

There are many reasons why increasing women’s interest and retention in STEM careers is a huge focus for today’s society. This article points out yet another detriment to having STEM fields dominated by men: the issue of allocation of resources.  “What we think of as “science problems” affect everyone—children, women, and men. However, what science decides to solve and for whom things are designed have a lot to do with who’s doing the scientific inquiry.” Research has shown that women tend to endorse higher communal goals whereas men tend to endorse greater agentic goals at work. Thus, these goals influence the type of scientific research that being conducted. Read more of this article to get a snapshot of how the current research topics are expected to shift as more women join and influence STEM fields.

Engage Creativity

April 10th, 2017 by

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Interested in creating a program where young girls are excited about participating in science and math? Techbridge’s after-school program called FabLab allows young girls the space to dream and create though hands-on projects like taking apart lawn mowers to building biomass-burning stoves for families across the world. “Every day, everybody gets to make something. It’s very exciting for them,” reports director Sherry Lassiter. Watch this video to see interviews with the girls in FabLab to see how it has affected their interest in pursuing STEM Careers.

Shatter the Glass Ceiling

April 7th, 2017 by

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The Iron Sister’s campaign is a global movement bringing women together from all around the world to encourage and support each other’s STEM successes. “We all share a passion for what we do, and we are united by a deeply held belief that we can use innovations in STEM fields to change the world for the better — because one of life’s greatest rewards is to do well by doing good.” Click here to read more about the power of women supporting women and discover how you can get involved.

Produce a Scientific Leader

April 3rd, 2017 by

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What a better way to learn about how to help kids reach their potential than to turn to scientific evidence that is 45-years in the making. The Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY) is the longest-running longitudinal survey – consisting of over 5,000 participants whom have gone on to become high achieving scientists. Although over 400 papers and several books are published from this abundant resource, this article provides a great summary of some of the key insights into how to spot and develop individual’s talent for STEM careers.

Your Kids Benefit from Your Full-Time Career

March 30th, 2017 by

working mom

Women report feeling torn between having a career and staying home to take care of their children. Many describe a sense of guilt for leaving their children with childcare workers in order to work full-time. However, current research suggests that being a working mom poses several benefits for children. “Women whose moms worked outside the home are more likely to have jobs themselves, are more likely to hold supervisory responsibilities at those jobs, and earn high wages than women whose mothers stayed home full time”. Read more of Kathleen McGinn and colleagues’ research findings here.